3 October, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The bill on the national budget for 2013, adopted in the first reading by the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, provides for incentive tools for a balanced state budget. This viewpoint was expressed in a conversation with a BELTA correspondent by Irina Semenchukova, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Development and Retraining of the Vitebsk State Technological University, Candidate of Economic Sciences. "2013 marks the peak of Belarus's payments on the state's external debt - $3.2 billion. To achieve a balanced state budget and keep the money market within the projected inflation level, the draft budget supported in the first reading by the deputies provides for the use of a number of incentive tools," she believes. First of all, Irina Semenchukova noted the expansion of opportunities for enterprises to obtain preferential loans for investment purposes at the expense of investment funds. "An increase in the scale of investment lending will contribute to the modernization of the national economy and the enhancement of its competitiveness," she stressed. The expert also drew attention to the preservation of the social orientation of budget expenditures. Against the backdrop of proposals to increase tariffs for housing and communal services, the budget provides for a return to the practice of non-cash housing subsidies for citizens whose share of expenses for utility payments in the family's total income exceeds 15-20%. The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus adopted the bill on the national budget for 2013 in the first reading at a meeting on October 2. The draft national budget has been formed on a deficit-free basis. The total amount of consolidated budget revenues for 2013 is projected at Br197.41 trillion, or 31.3% of GDP. Revenues under the draft national budget are projected at Br121.72 trillion, or an increase of 26.1% compared to the expected execution for 2012. The main sources of tax revenues of the national budget are value added tax, excise taxes, and tax revenues from foreign economic activity. Consolidated budget expenditures for 2013 are projected at Br197.41 trillion. Expenditures under the draft national budget are formed in the amount of Br121.72 trillion.